They are following a path of civic service, carved out in the San Bernardino National Forest nearly 80 years ago by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

It was 1933 when the original federal volunteer program was created during an economic crisis, intended to provide pay for people who were struggling and help revitalize the nation’s parks and forests.

A few of the Civilian Conservation Corps camps were located on or near the 676,666 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest.

This month, 20 local residents are continuing the spirit of volunteerism, signing on with AmeriCorps to maintain trails and plant trees in fire-ravaged areas of the mountains and San Bernardino.

“This crew is poised to create history and honor those who walked before them,” said Sarah Miggins, executive director of the San Bernardino National Forest Association.

AmeriCorps formed in 1994 and sends 75,000 adults across the country each year to mentor disadvantaged youth, build housing or work in forests.

Forest officials were thrilled when they learned the association would be the recipient of a $238,000 grant that would pay volunteers to work here for the next three years.

The money pays for the program and a stipend for each volunteer once they complete six months of service. The stipends are supposed to be used for higher education or trade schools.

“There’s a lot of incentive built into this as a service program,” Miggins said. “Not only does it provide jobs but a meaningful service on the national forest.”

Volunteers have already started work on the Pacific Crest Trail, which winds through the mountains but was damaged by several large wildfires in recent years.

When the snow melts in the spring, the crew plans to plant 20,000 trees, mostly Jeffrey pines, in communities where the Old Fire and Butler II Fire ravaged the land.

They will also be collecting seeds throughout the forest and nurturing them in makeshift greenhouses, both to study and preserve the forest’s ecosystems.

AmeriCorps volunteers typically come from all across the nation, but this grant – through the American Reinvestment Recovery Funds – required the association to hire volunteers who live in the Inland Empire.

Most are in their 20s and some have never set foot in the forest, even though it is a popular destination for those who live in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Pete Bon, a 19-year-old San Bernardino man, said working for AmeriCorps has been inspiring because he has met such a diverse group of people and learned leadership skills that will help in his quest to become a police officer.

He is studying criminal justice at the University of Phoenix.

“It’s been an eye-opener for me,” Bon said. “A lot of young adults should join these programs. It’s a great stepping stone for their future and it benefits them by giving them great leadership skills and work habits.”

Although there are obvious benefits for the volunteers, forest officials say they are the ones who are coming out ahead.

“The AmeriCorps crew has been able to accomplish projects that we would not have been able to do otherwise,” said U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Miller.

“They’ve been working on a backlog of trails work – this is work that should have been done years and years ago.”